In contrast to our hypothesis that people from individualistic cultures might experience more stress than those from collectivistic cultures, we observed no differences in perceived stress levels between countries with varying levels of individualism. Collectivism demands that people feel the obligation and responsibility towards in‐group members. Therefore, due to living in traditional families (Persike & Seiffge‐Krenke, 2012) and feeling more guilt and remorse for seeking help (Kim et al., 2008), people from collectivistic cultures may feel more stressed over their financial burdens than people from individualistic cultures, whereas people from individualistic cultures may treat the current situation as a threat to their need for self‐expression and freedom (Kim & Sherman, 2007) which translates into equal levels of stress.